The East African Crude Oil Pipeline (EACOP) was on Tuesday handed a license to construct a 1,443km East African oil pipeline
The license was handed over by the Minister of Energy and Mineral Development, Ruth Nankabirwa to Martin Tiffen, EACOP Ltd Managing Director.
The construction license is required to enable EACOP to officially start on the ground construction activities in Uganda as part of the development of the 1,443km, 24-inch diameter insulated and buried crude oil pipeline that will start from Kabaale, Hoima in Uganda to Chongoleani, Tanga in Tanzania.
Tiffen described the handover as another milestone in Uganda’s oil journey, saying, “This marks another step forward for EACOP as it allows the commencement of our construction activities in Uganda upon completion of the ongoing land access process.”
“We are grateful to the government of Uganda for the expedited delivery of the application as per the commitment in the Host Government Agreement (HGA) and the continuous support for implementation of the EACOP project,” he added.
Tiffen sais they are committed to preserving biodiversity and the environment, as well as the rights of the communities in which they operate.
“EACOP will meet all national laws and regulations including the stipulations in the Environmental and Social Impact Assessment (ESIA), and observe international best practice in the form of the IFC Performance standards,” he said.
The license was granted by the Ministry, following the application submitted on 1st July 2022, in compliance and accordance with Section 10 of the Petroleum ( Refining, Conversion, Transmission, and Midstream Storage) Act 2013, Regulation 59 of the Petroleum (Refining, Conversion, Transmission, and Midstream Storage) Act 2016, and the East African Crude Oil Pipeline Special Provisions Act 2021 and found satisfactory.
